Hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Food and Drug Administration.

Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

2025-05-22

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This meeting of the subcommittee heard testimony from leaders of the National Guard and various Reserve components regarding their posture and the President's budget request for fiscal year 2026[ 00:09:12-00:09:15 ] [ 00:10:02 ] . While acknowledging gratitude for past support, witnesses expressed significant concerns over delayed budget submissions and the impact of continuing resolutions on readiness, modernization, and personnel[ 00:10:13-00:10:43 ] . The discussion emphasized the critical role of these forces in both domestic and international operations and highlighted specific challenges and priorities for the coming fiscal year[ 00:11:30-00:11:41 ]

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Themes

Budgetary Instability and Continuing Resolutions

The delayed federal budget and reliance on continuing resolutions (CRs) were major concerns, creating instability and hindering critical functions[ 00:10:30-00:10:43 ]

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. Speakers noted that CRs force delays or cancellations of training events, impact equipment procurement, and complicate planning for reservists balancing civilian and military commitments. For instance, the Air Force Reserve expects to ground aircraft due to funding shortfalls caused by the CR. The Army Reserve also experienced significant shortfalls, impacting orders for soldiers and curtailing exercises[ 00:56:40-00:57:11 ]

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. Committee members echoed these concerns, calling for an end to "making budget history" and stressing the need for predictable funding.

Readiness and Modernization Imperatives

All components underscored the importance of readiness and modernization, despite aging equipment and facility challenges. The National Guard, representing 20% of the joint force with 4% of the budget, emphasized investments in foundational readiness accounts like flying hours, facility sustainment, and weapon system sustainment. The Navy Reserve highlighted recapitalizing its C-130 fleet with KC-130Js as its top equipment priority for critical intra-theater logistics missions. The Marine Corps Reserve stressed deliberate training and targeted investments to maintain lethality, especially given the "2027 Davidson window" for potential threats.

Significance of NEGRIA and Partnership Programs

The National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account (NEGRIA) was uniformly recognized as an essential appropriation for modernization and lethality across all services. While appreciated, some components, like the Navy Reserve, felt their NEGRIA allocation was insufficient to meet their requirements. The State Partnership Program (SPP) was lauded as a highly effective, low-cost, high-impact initiative that builds trust, capacity, and resilience with 115 partner nations globally. The Air Force Reserve also introduced its Reserve Allies and Partner Program (RAP) to formalize international partnerships, building on the SPP model.

Personnel Management and Domestic Operations

Personnel challenges were a recurring theme, particularly the impact of hiring freezes and the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) on military technicians (MilTechs). MilTechs, who comprise 25% of the full-time force, are critical for training and maintaining equipment, and backlogs in their hiring and movement negatively affect readiness. The National Guard's role in domestic operations, such as border security and disaster response, was discussed, with concerns raised about using military personnel as law enforcement and the potential impact on training and readiness.

Tone of the Meeting

The tone of the meeting was largely serious and concerned, reflecting the gravity of global threats and the challenges of unstable funding[ 00:10:56-00:11:02 ]

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. Speakers frequently expressed appreciation for congressional support and cooperation among services[ 00:09:52 ] [ 00:40:05-00:40:07 ]

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. An underlying sense of urgency permeated the discussions, especially regarding modernization efforts and the need for predictable budgets to address evolving strategic landscapes. Despite pointed questions and differing views on specific programs like the Space National Guard, interactions remained respectful and professional[ 01:29:47-01:29:49 ]

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Participants

Transcript

Thanks for watching!   Well, good morning, everyone.
The subcommittee will come to order.  And we'll begin today's hearing to receive testimony on the posture of the National Guard Bureau and reserve components.  I'd like to start by thanking our witnesses.  Stephen Nordhaus, the chief of the National Guard Bureau.   Lieutenant General Robert Harder, the Chief of Army Reserve.  My understanding is that Vice Admiral Corr is unable to testify this morning due to an illness.  We obviously hope she recovers quickly.  Welcome Rear Admiral Luke Frost, Director, Reserve Warfare, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, in her absence.   Lieutenant General Lonnie Anderson, Commander of the Marine Forces Reserve, and Lieutenant General John Healey, the Chief of Air Force Reserves.  Subcommittee is grateful for your service to our nation, and we look forward to hearing your candid testimony.  Our discussion today will be oriented toward the President's budget request   for fiscal year 2026.  The exact details of the request have not been received yet, but the top line summary released by the Office of Management and Budget gives proponents of robust national defense plenty to be concerned about already.   Annual top-line investment in the Department of Defense is a measure of our national will.
It sends a message to allies and adversaries alike about the strength of our resolve, and it appears that the message of the coming year is one of weakness.  Nobody in this room needs a reminder of how much the Department relies on stable and predictable funding   to drive the crucial functions of development, acquisitions, and procurement.  Nor is anyone here naive to the increasingly coordinated forces that threaten to undermine U.S.  interests around the world.  But when we talk about the consequences of shortchanging our armed forces,   We have to recognize that these effects are often compounding for the Guard and Reserve.  And the harder we have to scrape for funding to meet unfunded requirements of the Department of Defense, the harder it'll be to support the growing needs of the Guard and Reserve.  Despite playing an increasingly significant operational role,   Guard and Reserve units still struggle to access top-of-the-line kit.  Despite so often taking the lead in engagement with allies and partner forces, they face persistent hurdles in maintaining adequate infrastructure, equipment, and personnel.  The current strategic landscape and operational realities   give us no reason to suspect that the demand for highly trained, well-equipped citizen service members is going to diminish anytime soon.  Last year, it was the Guardsmen, including Kentuckians, defending Tower 22 from the Iran-backed attack and sustaining casualties in the process, adding new missions without adequate resourcing
constrain guard units' training calendars.  I'll be interested in the witnesses' candid observations on these headwinds impacting readiness.  I look forward to discussing them in more detail during our question and answer period.  With that, let me turn to Senator Coons.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  Thank you to the witnesses here today.  This is the first Defense Appropriations   subcommittee hearing, fiscal year 2026.  It is very unusual to hold a budget hearing without a budget.  The President's annual budget request is required by law.  Understandably, it typically lags in the first year of any new administration, but the Department of Defense, I'm told, is not likely to submit its detailed budget materials until next month, which will make this one of the most delayed budgets ever.  Meanwhile, our troops continue to operate under a   full-year continuing resolution for the very first time in history.  That legislation also cut billions of dollars in defense spending for the first time in recent memory.  I should note the Senate was ready to end fiscal year 2025 in December, ready to enact, I'm sorry, fiscal year 2025 appropriations in December.   The speaker refused, and the incoming administration did not object to a continuing resolution and its impact on DOD, which we warned about.  So my message to my colleagues and the department is this.  We need to stop making budget history.  I firmly believe the chairman and I can craft a reasonable consensus defense appropriation bill with the help of our subcommittee members to provide what our troops need and deserve.  Chairman McConnell and I see eye to eye about the challenges facing

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